AN: Dungeons and Dragons and all related characters belong to Marvel, TSR, and the late Gary Gygax. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

The Summit

By The Lady Razorsharp

When Venger appeared on the windswept outcropping, he was in no good humor. To be honest, he rarely was in a good humor, unless it involved meting out punishment or seeking his own gain, but at this moment, his mood was particularly foul.

The reason for this black temper stood beside him, eyes fastened on the lush valley floor below, gnarled hands calmly folded into his voluminous carmine sleeves.

Venger scowled at the diminutive, white-haired mage beside him. "Why have you summoned me here, old man?"

"I did not compel you," Dungeon Master reminded the dark wizard. "You decided to come." He smiled faintly, his gaze still on the valley, which was beginning to fill with the purple hue of dusk. "Of all your natural traits that you have managed to suppress over the ages, your curiosity still survives."

Venger's scowl deepened for a moment, and then he turned to survey the valley as well. "You have not answered my question," he gritted.

Dungeon Master closed his eyes and smiled at Venger's attempt to redirect the conversation. "That is true." He opened his eyes again to study the view once more. "As you know, I have summoned a new group of pupils," he began.

Venger growled low in his throat. "I am unlikely to forget," he said, shame lapping at the edge of his words. "So: It begins again between us."

Dungeon Master nodded silently.

"Do you know, old one, that I have at times wondered if you are not more evil than I am?" asked Venger, a hint of dark amusement replacing the shame.

"Oh?" Dungeon Master's voice also gained a degree of amusement. "And what is your conclusion?"

Venger cocked a deeply arched eyebrow. "You drop innocents into an unfamiliar and hostile world, task them with an impossible quest, and tease them with an elusive reward." He laughed. "It is a diabolical scheme of the first order."

The valley's eastern end was now sinking into velvet darkness flecked with diamond points of light. Two of the four daystars had slipped beyond the horizon, and their fellows were quickly following suit. When Dungeon Master spoke, his voice was as dark as the vista before them.

"Desperate times…my son."

The pale face of the towering mage twisted in fury. "You will not call me that!"

Despite the deadly threat behind the words, Dungeon Master stood with his hands in his sleeves, eyes closed as if in meditation.

"Many have tried," Venger reminded him, brimming with obscene pride. "All have failed."

Dungeon Master did not reply, except to bow his head.

Venger smirked. "I will slaughter your young pupils one by one, as I have all the others." His smirk spread into a fanged grin. "I believe I will take the little unicorn first, and then the young Barbarian. Then I will do away with the inept Magician and the sniveling Cavalier, followed by your stubborn Acrobat." The grin turned into a leer. "Then…I will take the young Thief, while the Ranger stands by, as helpless to save her as he was the others." He let the words die away, clearly savoring the thought. "Then I will destroy the Ranger, and while the knowledge of his failure yet lingers in his dying eyes, I will seize the power of their weapons."

Dungeon Master raised his head, casting his gaze to the shifting colors of the sky. "You will not find it so easy," he warned.

"They are children," spat Venger.

The small mage turned tear-filled eyes on his towering counterpart. "That is precisely my point."

The two stood staring at each other for a long moment. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

"Be it on your own head, old man," Venger snarled, and then disappeared in a burst of flame.

"Yes," Dungeon Master sighed, tears tumbling down his cheeks. "It is."

-End-